Labour market outcomes for landed immigrants in Canada
| Indicator | All (2022) | Landed immigrant (2022) | Non-immigrant (2022) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 20,790,630 | 5,577,995 | 15,212,635 |
| Labour force share (%) | 100 % | 26.8 % | 73.2 % |
| Number employed | 19,692,982 | 5,260,444 | 14,432,539 |
| Employment rate (%) | 62 % | 62.2 % | 61.9 % |
| Employment rate – Youth (15-24 years old) | 58.7 % | 54.7 % | 59.5 % |
| Employment rate – Core-aged (25-54 years old) | 84.7 % | 82.2 % | 85.8 % |
| Employment rate – Mature (Over 55 years old) | 34.9 % | 37 % | 34.2 % |
| Median wage share (%) | 50.2 % | 47.2 % | 51.3 % |
The labour force refers to the number of persons aged 15 years and over who are currently employed or actively looking for the work. It is a common indicator of a population’s engagement in the labour market and of the total labour supply.
Immigrants have and continue to play a critical role in Canada’s labour supply, driving Canada’s labour force growth and addressing labour shortages in key sectors.
In 2022, landed immigrants accounted for 26.8% of Canada’s labour force. A little more than half (52.2%) of these individuals were male. The majority (68.8%) were between 25 and 54 years of age, and just over two-thirds (66.9%) had been admitted before 2012.
In January 2023, employment for landed immigrants in Canada was 41.7% higher than it was in January 2013, while employment for non-immigrants was approximately 6.2% higher (See Figure 2).
These data highlight the key role immigrants do and continue to play in Canada’s economic development. This trend may also have positive implications for the overall health of the labour market, as more workers can help to reduce unemployment and increase productivity.
In Canada, the employment rate measures the share of a given population that is employed. As an indicator, it provides a snapshot of the labour market and the economy’s ability to provide jobs for its population. A high employment rate indicates that a large proportion of the population is employed, which is a positive sign for the economy. It suggests that there is strong demand for labour and that businesses are hiring.
Figure 3 shows the employment rates for immigrants and non-immigrants in Canada by province in 2022. Overall, and in nearly all but two provinces (i.e., Ontario and British Columbia), immigrants experienced higher employment rates than non-immigrants. This means that a larger proportion of immigrants in the population were employed compared to non-immigrants.
The employment rate of established immigrants (i.e., immigrants who came to Canada more than ten years ago) was lower than that of recent and new immigrants. In 2022, the employment rate for established immigrants was 58%, while recent immigrants had a rate of 72.1% and newcomers, 71.1%. The disparity may be attributed to various factors, such as difficulty in finding employment opportunities that match qualifications and experience, limited access to language training and support services, and a greater likelihood of being underemployed.
One possible explanation for this pattern is that established immigrants may face difficulties in finding employment opportunities that match their qualifications and experience. They may also be more likely to have settled into jobs that do not fully utilize their skills, which could contribute to lower employment rates.
In contrast, recent immigrants and newcomers may have greater access to employment opportunities that match their qualifications and experience. Recent immigrants may have established networks and connections in Canada that can help them find work, while newcomers may benefit from targeted support programs and services that are designed to help them integrate into the Canadian job market.
Employment growth for immigrants with university degrees has been much higher compared to those with other educational levels. Specifically, employment for immigrants with university education has grown 77% since January 2013. This is followed by 35% growth for immigrants with post-secondary certificates or diplomas and 11% for high school graduates (see Figure 5). On the other hand, employment for immigrants with no degree, certificate, or diploma was 5% lower (see Figure 5).
These data suggest that having a university degree has become increasingly important for immigrants in terms of accessing employment opportunities. The job market is becoming more competitive and specialized, and employers are playing a greater emphasis on education and skills.
Immigrants play a crucial role in several key economic sectors in Canada. Figure 6 shows top five sectors where immigrants are employed. According to data from 2022, a significant percentage of employed immigrants in Canada were working in the health care and social assistance sector, which accounted for 14.1% of the immigrant workforce. This highlights the vital role that immigrants play in providing essential services and support to the country’s population.
The professional, scientific and technical services sector followed closely, employing 11.5% of immigrants. This sector includes a brand range of industries such legal services, scientific research and development, and engineering.
The retail trade sector employed 10.5% of immigrants, reflecting the importance of immigrant workers in the retail sector, which is essential to the economy.
The finance and insurance sector, which includes banking and investment firms, employed 6.7% of immigrants, and the transportation and warehousing sector, which includes logistic and distribution, employed 6.6%.
Underrepresentation in an occupation means that the proportion of workers from a particular group in that occupation is lower than their proportion in the overall labour force. For example, in 2022, immigrants comprised 26.8% of Canada’s labour force but only 10.5% of workers in natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations.
Figure 7 shows the share of immigrants working in 10 broad occupational categories and the position relative to the share of the total labour force. In 2022, the top three occupational categories in which landed immigrants were underrepresented included natural resources, agriculture and related occupations; art, culture, recreation and sport occupations; and education, law and social, community and government service occupations.
Similarly, overrepresentation means that the proportion of workers in the occupation is greater than their proportion in the overall labour force. Figure 7 shows that immigrants in 2022 were overrepresented in natural and applied sciences and related occupations, occupations in manufacturing and utilities, and health occupations.
Both under- and overrepresentation are concerns because they may indicate barriers to entry or discrimination in the occupation. They also limit the diversity of ideas and perspectives in a given occupation, which can have negative consequences for innovation and problem-solving. Finally, they can also have economic consequences, such as lost productivity and missed opportunities for businesses. For example, if immigrants are underrepresented in certain occupations despite having the necessary skills and qualifications, this could mean that businesses are missing out on a pool of talented and motivated workers.
Figure 8 shows differences in the types of occupations in which non-immigrants and immigrants in Canada were working in 2022.
In terms of management occupations, the percentage of non-immigrants and immigrants in such positions were quite similar, with 9.4% of non-immigrants and 9.1% of immigrants working in management.
However, immigrants were more likely to work in occupations that require a university degree, with 25.5% of immigrants in such occupations compared to 22% of non-immigrants. This is consistent with the fact that immigrants in Canada are highly educated and are able to secure jobs that require higher levels of education.
In terms of occupations that require a post-secondary education or apprenticeship program, there is a slightly higher percentage of non-immigrants in these positions, with 40.2% compared to 36.6% of immigrants.
Finally, the data show that a similar percentage of non-immigrants and immigrants were working in jobs that require a high-school education or less, with 28.4% of non-immigrants and 28.8% of immigrants in these types of occupations.
Figure 9 shows the median wages for non-immigrants and immigrants in Canada over the past 10 years.
Looking at the median wage for non-immigrants, we can see that it has steadily increased over the past 10 years, from $21.52 in 2013 to $27.69 in 2022. This represents an increase of over $6 per hour, or approximately 30% over the decade.
For immigrants, the median wage has also increased over the past 10 years and at about the same rate. In 2013, the median wage for immigrants was $20 per hour, and by 2022 it had increased to $26 per hour, representing an increase of $6 per hour, or approximately 30%.
However, it is important to note that the median wage for immigrants has consistently been lower than that of non-immigrants. Moreover, this gap remains 10 years out, and has increased by 11% ($0.17) since 2013.
The data points presented here leverage the timeliness of the LFS to highlight important insights into the demographics of Canada’s immigrant population, their employment rates and wages, and the challenges they face in finding employment. This information can be used to help policymakers, program developers, and other stakeholders evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies and programs by tracking changes in key indicators over time, as well as to suggest possible policy and program decisions that address the barriers faced by immigrants.
Overall, the information presented here is designed to support informed decision making for those seeking to promote more inclusive economic growth and ensure that all members of Canadian society have an equal change to succeed.
This report uses data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a monthly household survey administered by Statistics Canada. It is one of four surveys used to collect and generate statistics related to Canada’s labour market1.
Data from the LFS provide information on major labour market trends, such as shifts in employment across industrial sectors, hours worked, labour force participation and unemployment rates. The high frequency of data collection and their subsequent release make the LFS a valuable source for timely labour market information (LMI).
Beginning in 2006, the LFS introduced questions that can be used to distinguish immigrants (i.e., permanent residents) from non-immigrants, permitting the estimation of employment, unemployment, labour force participation, and other labour market statistics by immigrant status (See Box 1).
In this digest, I leverage the timeliness of LFS data to supplement Canada’s knowledge and understanding of the socioeconomic integration of immigrants in Canada.
Box 1: Identifying the immigrant population in Canada’s Labour Force Survey
As part of the LFS questionnaire, respondents are asked to identify their country of birth, their landed immigrant status, and the date they were first admitted to Canada if applicable. This results in four populations for which labour statistics may be estimated:
This report makes use of the LFS Public User Microdata Files (PUMF), available for download via Statistics Canada’s website. In these data files, the non-immigrant and Born in Canada populations are combined. Therefore, in this report, non-immigrants refers to a) persons born in Canada, b) Canadian citizens born outside Canada, and c) non-permanent residents.
The other three surveys are the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) ; Employment Insurance Statistics (EIS); and the Job Vacancy Wage Survey (JVWS)↩︎